Well, if she wanted to watch the filly flop onto her head, who was to say no? AuraSidra played the game fairly regularly; she was glad to demonstrate. The only problem was that they were on a beach, and beaches were notoriously short of high places to hang from.

Except that this time, luckily or not, there was something out in the water. Eternal smiled as she watched the little one look around and discover the stone jutting up in the air; the expression on her little face was simply adorable. It was amazing to see such calculation for something as trivial as a flying game!

AuraSidra hesitated for just a moment, reluctant to undo all the work of burying her in the cool sand. At least it was cool now. It was like it became an insulating layer against the sun as it piled around her. If she was going to surge to her hooves and sabotage all that work, she kind of wished Coal would have wandered back so she could explain. She didn't see him still, though... And Rose had said she wanted to see. She just hoped she wouldn't upset her new friend while he was gone.

Surging forward brought her out of the sand, and it required more effort than she'd anticipated; sand was surprisingly heavy! Eternal made a small sound at the same time, catching her attention.

Mind your lessons, young lady, and remember your manners.

Not a light warning. AuraSidra knew that blatant rudeness would result in a loss of all sweets for some time - and that simply wasn't tolerable. Properly chastened, she took several careful steps forward, careful to be standing at the water's edge before shaking out the sand from her coat. Shaking off right under their noses would have been inconsiderate enough to earn her some decent trouble with her mother once she got home. No matter how much fun she was having, she needed to remember herself.

Eternal took careful note of the fact that the filly had very carefully not stepped into the water itself. There had been an incident involving the ocean a while ago, and for a time everyone had worried that it would result in a similar fear to Path's aversion. Support and several long talks seemed to have curtailed that result; the filly had, instead, begun regular swimming lessons with the water dwellers in their herd. She wouldn't ever be a strong swimmer, not compared to those with a natural affinity for water, but honestly she was fairly decent. Her confidence had not grown to the point of carelessness, however; Eternal thought that a filly's first lesson in fear wouldn't ever become carelessness again.

AuraSidra didn't look back for permission before deliberately crossing that small boundary into the ocean; she didn't need permission, and with the way she lifted her head high it was clear that she refused to seek reassurance. At least, it was if one knew about what had happened. Eternal wasn't so sure it would look to be any more than proper posture to anyone else.

It was a short swim and the currents were gentle enough, though she still used them to her advantage rather than fighting against them. She'd learned that from Tribe, the wandering mare who was so much like a gypsy with her love of travel and trinkets. Whenever there was a chance to, she would open her wings and coast - a lesson from Sign's gentle cove. The rock jutted out at an angle that allowed her to step onto it and walk to the top, though it wasn't possible for her to haul her weight out of the water with any amount of grace; the sea was not her element.

She looked around once she'd walked to the top, hoping to see Coal. Had he gone home? Hopefully there wasn't some emergency... She didn't remember saying anything to have upset him.

I'll show Coal when he gets back, if he wants to see too, she called, and Eternal smiled her approval. Consideration was always rewarded.

Reassured by the smile, AuraSidra sat like a dog before stretching her back legs in front of her. She looked quite ridiculous until she tipped herself backwards, and for one heartstopping moment it seemed she would simply fall. Instead, she tensed her legs and allowed the backs of her gaskins to catch her, hooking her weight just above the hocks so that her hooves stuck straight in the air as her knees bent to grip the stone.

Now she really looked ridiculous. She was dangling straight upside down, legs stretched behind her as if in mid-jump, hooves sticking straight in the air, and the only thing keeping her there was the bend of her knees.

But now the ground was the sky, floating somewhere above her head. Even with her body stretched out as she hung down, the water was a good four lengths away; it was a higher rock than she'd thought, but that was a good thing. Wrinkling her nose in concentration, she flexed her wings and got a feel for what she was about to do; then she let go and dropped.

A quick twist and several hard flaps had her scrambling back so that the sky was upright again, making her laugh as she flopped into the deep water. The watery landing made Eternal think of birds as the filly carefully folded her wings and began the swim back, obviously quite pleased with herself.

She shook the water out of her coat the moment her hooves touched sand, well away from the two mares, and smiled at the approval in Eternal's eyes. And then she had to go and give Rose an exaggerated bow, making her guardian chuckle. AuraSidra, the performing pony!

I saw the bats in the Hermit's forest, the filly explained, so I wanted to try what they did. I like hanging around (her eyes lit up at her own joke as Eternal snorted) but getting down is the hard part. Mother says I'm going to enjoy the same daring dives as father, once I'm grown enough to fly properly.

She spends a lot of time with your Sire, Eternal added, and there was a spark of amusement in her eye as she told Rose It had originally been because of how the grass on his plateau was so different due to his atmospheric influences. Now I think he's just influencing her with his own brand of creative chaos.

Chaos is just change, and the sky is always changing, so he comes up with the best ideas! AuraSidra gushed, fluffing her wings in self-satisfaction as Eternal chuckled. Oh yes, the filly was certainly being influenced by the mercurial stallion.

Finally, it dawned on her that her brother was seemingly absent, and she began to surreptitiously scan the area. Aura Sida was just so darn cute and excited and serious that it was impossible to divide her attention, so she let it drop for now. But she'd sure give him a hard time for missing this!

It was a real struggle to hold back her laugh as the filly oh so carefully distanced herself before sending sand flying outward in a short-lived halo of debris. Rose was unable to hold back entirely, and a few giggles escaped. She was laughing more in this day than the past few weeks put together! And now she found herself itching to jump in and start a sand fight! Well, she was Coal's sister, after all. Looking at Eternal, she commented Boy, she sure gets serious sometimes,for such a young one. Was she like that? It was hard to remember.

Coal watched from the water, on the other side of the rock. He'd planned on playing at sea-monster and perhaps giving the filly a bit of a fright, but this show was too good to miss. This rock had a ledge, a slope that one would call gentle if it were not for the porous sharpness of it all. The grey one rested on his knees with hind legs tucked beneath him, ducking low as he saw a quiet determination pass across those small features and wondered if conquering the water was something she'd had to work at. It definitely made her seem brave.

Waiting until she was situated on her rock, he had to thank a few lucky stars she'd not caught him. She was a sharp whippersnapper. Then she performed her trick. It truly needed a drum roll. After she finished and made it to shore, Coal leapt as quickly to his feet as the pointy rock surface allowed, whooping and cheering as loudly as he could.

Wooo-hoo-hoooooo! That! Was fantastic! He scrambled over the rest of the rock and into the water, swimming to join them on the beach.

As he landed and stood dripping water, not bothering to shake it all off, Rose cocked her head at him. Whatever happened to fetching a stick for a moat? She shook her head in exasperation and addressed Aura Sidra. That was very well done. Such balance! And so brave. I could not bring myself to teeter like that, and drop. Did the bats ever see you do that?

Coal snorted indignantly, reaching back and yanking a stick out of the strand of blue running through his tail he'd tied it into and dropping it for his sister to see. I got distracted! But I did bring one, even so. Leave it to his sister to take him back to his snarky foalhood self.

He glanced at Eternal. That is becoming quite apparent, certainly. I can see our sire doing that from a sky high cliff. He brought his face down a bit until it was level with Aura Sidra's. Have you gotten him to make cloud candy for you yet? He can take flowers with nectar to the clouds, drizzle them over the fluffiest sections, and bring some of it back to you still puffy. He sighed. Delicious!

Mint was always my favorite. Rose's expression softened as she remembered. Yes, delicious. And just right for their new friend.

A spark lit the little one's eye at Coal's question, and she was still grinning from his whooping shout; she'd never been cheered for, before. It was the look in her eye that had Eternal perking an ear, not the smile. There was going to be a ruckus back home; there always was when the young one got that look.

Flavored ice-mist, from the clouds? she asked, clearly contemplating the possibilities. He has made his grasses flavored; sweeter and thicker, like it was grown from honey. Maybe that is how he does it. I have never gotten to try the source of it, though...

Oh, yes. There was going to be a ruckus. The filly could be mercilessly relentless, and Caelum would make a token effort of denying her at first. He always gave in eventually; the filly was generally smart enough to find something else to give in exchange for what she wanted.

And in all honesty, Caelum was a bit too changeable to do anything but give in to someone as stubborn as that little beast. But they'd all be hearing about it in the meantime; the storms would roar throughout the lands, at least if the filly didn't keep the right balance of tact and persistence.

You might find the end result is better than the original alterations, Eternal said mildly, motioning towards the piles of damp sand the filly had left behind as an example. Perhaps, if she could be made to think a bit, she might not start out with her father's blazing intensity in full force.

AuraSidra looked thoughtful for a moment before giving a slight nod; message received. Tact had been the focus of her last several lessons, and it was a concept she was still struggling to embrace. It had taken her weeks to notice that both of her parents were as fierce as she was; they simply tempered it when dealing with others.

And she might not like the sweet-fluff as much as the gummy grasses, so easing up on the intensity of her stubbornness was made all the easier. She was curious now, but not driven to fixation.

It also hinted, in the back of her young mind, that the grown ups were becoming stricter. She was going to have to step carefully if it was so easy to get a mild reminder that trouble wasn't far away for her.

I do not think I have ever practiced ground-sky where the bats could see,, she added, her thoughts on being a bit less reckless reminding her that she'd completely overlooked entire pieces of conversation for the concept of new sweets (not obsessed at all, was she?) My ermine friends have watched me, and shown me different ways to climb up on the ice, she smiled. They think it's funny.

They are surprisingly good at climbing and swimming, Eternal explained, and their nimble boldness entertains and encourages. If those little fluffballs could be so versatile, surely AuraSidra could explore and expand. Why else would she be out on a beach?

There was that word again, that nimble. Ermines could, and often did, get into hilariously clumsy situations, yet for the most part she didn't really think of them as tripping over themselves. They really were very good at climbing, and it was because of them that she'd started climbing the giant ice spires that made up her "palace" in the first place.

But they did fall on their faces sometimes; she still wasn't certain about the meaning.

Curious, and quite happy because she had found something new to be curious about, AuraSidra picked up the little stick that Coal had dropped and pranced over to the piles of sand she'd left scattered where she'd been buried. She was humming the word Nimble over and over to herself as she pushed and nosed the piles into new shapes, eventually bringing a gnarled old "tree" out of the sand and using the stick as the trunk.

Eternal chuckled and smiled at Rose and Coal, nodding towards the youngling. She can be quite serious at times, and quite silly at others, she grinned, speaking over the repetitive nimble.What would you say to a bit of silliness this day, my friends? I quite fancy the idea of building with the youngling.

Which might lead to hurling sand at each other, which might lead to running through the water and splashing each other to "clean off." Chaos and destruction could also be a very, very good thing. Especially when it was while having fun with your friends.

OOC| Gah! Egads! I believe cobwebs began re-forming just from my recent lapse! Apologies, the holidays really chewed me up this year.

BIC| Rose watched the little one carefully. The range of expressions on her face was quite wide, and it was fascinating to watch her process everything. Perhaps it was just not as plain on other faces, perhaps it was age. A thought she kept finding herself repeating as time went on.

Coal grinned a wide grin, seeing he'd brought up something for this one to pester his Da about. Some pestering was only proper from a young'un, of course. It seemed AuraSidra was under a rather monitored, rather tight rein. Mayhaps it was just that with triplets, things tended to be a little on the wild side. Mayhaps it was Eternal's presence. Mayhaps it was past happenings coming back to teach lessons. Who knew. Do you have a nickname, little one? So many of your relations have them, and they are the most interesting assignations. They always seemed earned, and he wondered what names she'd earned herself if she had them.

Have you befriended others? The bats and the ermines cannot be the only ones you've come across and played with in your lands, surely? Aura impressed her with her independence, but it would be easy to see her making friends wherever she went. And it was great fun hearing her tales of her homeland.

Both watched the filly with fondness, sharing Eternal's amusement. A bit of silliness would be more than welcome, your ladyship. Rose nodded her agreement, happy to be a part of this group and sharing in the serious and the silly.

BIC| It couldn't be helped. She was, after all, just a wee one. Looking up at her new friends, AuraSidra gave them the most puzzled look and asked What relevance does a mule have for a given nickname?

No more than they do an assignment, Eternal answered drily. She had to fight not to grin as the filly lowered her ears, recognizing the voice used for her lessons.

She was learning from several different mentors, and Eternal was one of those who had been giving her "lessons" in the way things worked. So was her bonded, her parents, Caustic, Tribe (sometimes aided by Sign), and to some extent Caelum had even made use of the constant pestering of the bouncing filly. Most of the time it was perfectly safe to ask questions, but sometimes it began a new lesson in her tutoring.

Like any good foal, the look of the condemned passed quickly as she set herself to the lesson before her.

Momma said that an assignment was a task or duty given to you by someone else, AuraSidra recited. Her ears perked with achievement as Eternal answered with a smile.

A designation is some sort of title given to someone, the mare said leadingly, Though it can also be used when determining the place for something, such as the designated location for your hoard of sweets.

Oh, the look on that filly's face - such shock! Had she really thought her secret stash was so well kept? Of course they knew she set some of her treats aside. For one thing, it rather gave something away when her honey was frozen solid or her sugar flecked with snow. For another, claiming she'd gotten it from trading with the strange bear-things that skirted her mother's lands might not be lying, but it was stretching things a little bit when the bear-folk hadn't passed through for a moonturn or more.

Eternal managed not to even crack a smile of amusement, furthering the goddess-like impression for the youngling, but there would be much fond chuckling to be had with her parents later.

Now tell me what assignation means.

AuraSidra thought and thought and thought. She forgot to breathe for a little bit, she was thinking so hard.

If an assignment is a task given by someone else... And a designation is a title given by someone else... Well, they both come from someone else, so if you take the first part of one word that means from someone else and the last part of another word that means from someone else, it has to also mean from someone else, too. So... It means the giving of a thing?

Precisely, Eternal answered, and gently placed a clump of sugar in front of the little filly - who stared at it hard enough that it should have melted, but knew better than to touch it yet. This was motivation.

So if assignation is the assignment of something that is not specifically a task, and if the sweet Rose was speaking of our names that are used in place of our proper names, what was it she was asking?

The little filly wrinkled her nose in concentration, but after a long moment she said She meant our assigned names, the titles we were given by our bonded - and everyone else, too. That's where the word designation comes in, isn't it?

Very good, Eternal smiled, and then with a touch of amusement added Try not to eat the sand with the sugar.

Carefully, the filly stretched her neck forward and lipped up the little sugar lump, though the slight strain in her back spoke of the self control it took not to simply slam her face in the ground. There was a grain or five of sand on the sugar - that couldn't be helped - and she found out almost instantly that the restraint had rewarded her with more sweetness and less grittiness. She really didn't want a mouthful of that stuff; it certainly would have ruined her treat!

Closing her eyes in appreciation, she gave a small, happy sound and swallowed. If she'd had the right tail for it she would have wagged.

When she was done and the last fleck of sugar absorbed on her tongue, she stood up, carefully brushed as much sand as she could off of herself, turned to their new friends, and bowed, dropping one front knee to the sand.

I am known as "The Princess," by those who love me, she said, and stood up once more to smile at Rose and Coal. She had no special talents. She was no warrior, no elemental. She had only a touch of magic, as any of her kind would, and her own touch was the sky-colors called auroras that had spawned her name. It was sheer personality and force of a rather indomitable will that had earned her both her name and her place among the others. And it was well earned indeed, as one of the very first things she'd done was refuse to back down to Caelum, Death himself.

That strong will and her insatiable curiosity had earned her a strict guardianship. Her parents, her bonded, and Eternal were the only one she was truly guaranteed to step respectfully around - and, truth be told, as she grew her parents would lose a little of the deep respect that comes from the truly young. Those four were the only reason she hadn't taken over and started wreaking havoc, stringing the chaos of the young behind her like a rippling aurora.

OakHeart - I mean, Darroch is my friend, she added, swinging around to smile at Coal, I think. He plays with me and annoys me; I have been told that is what a brother does, but can someone not be both a friend and a brother? He calls me a WindStar just to make me bite at him, but just to tease. And The Gypsy Tribe is my friend, we explore together and she helped me learn to be safe in the water. And Thorn is my special friend - I think I heard someone say guardian, once, and that sounds right. Most think of him as the Hermit, because he mostly wants to be left on his own, but for me he is my Knight. That means he helps guard me, but he listens like a friend instead of being bossy like most grown ups. And the Lover - I mean, Shiro is friends with everyone. But my most special and loved friend ever is Spectrum, she is the absolute best! She is such a good friend that my Knight even watches over her, too, because she means that much to me.

Her whole face lit up at the mention of Spectrum, and Eternal grinned softly - just out of the filly's sight. Young as she was, she was already grown enough that such an expression would make her blush (although she didn't understand the reason for it, yet). There was a potential beginning of friendship with another young one named Astarte, but AuraSidra was a little too cautious to proclaim anyone she met as a true friend; although she did hope to meet the other filly again, she wasn't certain that there was anything akin to the everlasting affection she and Spectrum shared.

Oh, she did miss Spectrum. It'd been far too long since they last played.

That was all it took for her to shift from glowing to gloomy; would she ever see her dearest friend again?

And two new friends, Eternal added, knowing just how to nudge the youngling back into cheerfulness. Caelum will be so happy to have you come bouncing up and tell him all about his Rose and Coal.

I think he might like it more if he could see them himself, she answered thoughtfully. Do you think knowing his get are wandering about would be enough reason to interrupt his work with the thunderhorses?

Only if you want smacked, little one, Eternal answered, and smiled at the dejected look she received. You know that species is too powerful for you to go leaping about with. He won't want you to get hurt, and just one good stomp from them would send you tumbling from the skies. And interrupting them would very likely get you more than a stomp.

But we could ask, maybe? she said hopefully, perking one ear in cautious inquiry We could ask the strangeling and see if they have reached a good place for the others to take over...?.

Ask, then, Eternal said with a shrug. You don't need my permission to talk to our bonded.

So, standing up tall, AuraSidra closed her eyes and concentrated with all her might, reaching deep and deeper for that link that bound her soul to another's. This was another of her lessons, one she was still practicing, and... And this time, she got it! It would be a long time before she developed any finesse with it, but she got a basic query across.

//StormWalker come?//Hope//See foals//

She waited, holding her breath for a heartbeat, before she felt the reply - which made her feel more like a bumbling baby than ever, but then her bonded was said to be over three hundred billion years old.

//He is ready for rest//The sky shall carry him to you//

She said yes! she hiccuped, and strained her neck looking up and up and up.

It seems we are in for a bit more silliness than I had anticipated, Eternal smiled, and took a few steps back as something large and gray came streaking across the sky.

Caelum, to his credit, didn't honestly intend to stir up so much air that he created a localized sand storm. AuraSidra simply laughed, giggling about how it was snowing sand, and Eternal had managed to step back enough that while she got a decent coating of grit she wasn't caught dead in the middle the way the filly was - who would probably have a few scrapes by the time it settled down, not that such a thing ever seemed to bother her. There was too much sand flinging about for her to see how the others had made out.

And then the air was still and Caelum, in his gold-flecked glory, stood with his hair drifting about him like he was under water and grinning like a colt given an apple at the two grown serians he would forever see as his foals.

Both siblings stared at the smaller figure, Coal with his head cocked to the side. Luckily, they did not have to wait in silence for an explanation. They simply followed along as Eternal led the spitfire to the answer. And when she got there, Coal let out a guffaw. At the name, or the sugar, who was to say?

Rose had to exclaim, Princess, is it? She did not have long to wait for further explanation of the other Bondeds' names, and it was fascinating to hear. I have heard tales of Darroch and Tribe, perhaps of Thorn.... though not particularly of this Spectrum or Shiro. Twould be nice to meet them or hear tales; how I love hearing these little snippets and facets. She blushed a bit at Eternal's calling them friends. It was a happy thought. Then she had no choice but to watch as the Princess went to work once again. Her exchanges with Eternal were not exactly clear, though Rose could tell that she was again under the direction and asking permission of the dark serian. Would they be able to gaze upon their sire, perhaps? Would they be able to scry him? It did not actually take overlong, but it did look like a strain of some sort.

And then! Wonder of wonders, Caelum himself was incoming. They had to turn away until the sand stilled enough to stop pelting their sensitive eyes. When they could turn them back to their Da, both sets were shining. Coal, who had met his sire once since he had come to his new home in Pendar, ran forward eagerly and greeted the sky stallion standing on his rear toes in joy. Coming back to all fours, he danced just a bit like an excited colt. Hi Da!

Rose, suddenly shy, held back until Coal had completed his greeting. As she waited she filled her eyes with the site of him, drinking it in. She'd begun to wonder, and doubt at times, if she would ever see him again. Suddenly she was 10 hands tall again standing in front of her Papa after he'd come home from his sky work.